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Finding may lead to new therapeutic strategy for disorders causing blindness "We believe these cells, called neural progenitor cells, are present in the optic nerve tissue at birth and remain for decades, helping to nourish the nerve fibers that form the optic nerve," said study leader Steven Bernstein, MD, PhD, Professor and Vice Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. "Without these cells, the fibers may lose their resistance to stress, and begin to deteriorate, causing damage to the optic nerve, which may ultimately lead to glaucoma." https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2020/07/27/2001858117

The notion that spermatozoon moves like "a snake or an eel swimming in water" was coined by Antonie van Leeuwenhoek in 1678, who invented the commonly used compound microscope, and used his device to study his ejaculate. This, however, is an optical illusion; using a 3D microscope the researchers from the University of Bristol and Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México discovered that sperm actually roll—rather than snake—to swim forward.  "Sperm are very cheeky little creatures. Our new research using 3D microscopy shows that we have all been victims of a sperm deception," said Hermes Gadelha to  CNN , who is one of the study's authors and the head of Polymaths Laboratory at the University of Bristol. The scientists hope that this new discovery of sperm movement will have implications in fertility science.  https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/31/eaba5168.full

Love can leave us defenseless, but for some species of deep sea anglerfish letting their guard down for new romance is in their genes.  New research  finds that evolution has actually eliminated an integral part of the ghoulish fish's immune system to make sure that when they find a mate, nothing stands between them and complete union, reports Katherine J. Wu for the  New York Times . That's because certain species of anglerfish have adopted what might seem like an extreme approach to the vast, lightless dating pool of the deep. When a male finds a female, which can be up to 60 times his size, he clamps onto her underside with tiny translucent fangs. The comparatively miniscule male's love nip then turns into a permanent attachment: his mouth, and eventually even his blood vessels, fuse to the female to provide her eggs with on demand fertilization. (Talk about clingy.) In biological terms, the male becomes a sexual parasite incapable of surviving without his beloved—his ...

Recent media reports of massive disparities in the prices charged for  COVID-19 lab tests throughout the United States have citizens and law makers alike again calling for increased transparency in  clinical laboratory  test charges. One recent example involves the  New York Times  ( NYT ), which after learning that Austin-based  Gibson Diagnostic Labs  (GDL) of Irving, Tex., billed a patient $2,315 for one COVID-19 test, questioned the disparity in coronavirus testing charges. The article, titled, " Most Coronavirus Tests Cost About $100. Why Did One Cost $2,315? " brought unwanted attention to the Texas clinical laboratory. On July 16, the  NYT  reported that GDL, "has run some of the most expensive coronavirus tests in America." In addition, the paper reported that health insurance companies have paid GDL $2,315 for individual COVID-19 tests, but that in "a couple of cases," the price rose to $6,946. However, that higher amount resulted "w...

People around the world anxiously anticipate a new kind of "best shot" -- a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine. There are currently 166 novel coronavirus vaccine candidates in development, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Twenty-four of those candidates are being evaluated in clinical trials in humans. Most of those are in early-stage clinical studies. However, five COVID-19 vaccine candidates are either currently in late-stage clinical testing or are scheduled to begin a phase 3 study in the next few days. https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/07/26/5-late-stage-covid-19-vaccines-which-is-likely-to.aspx

On 30 April, Valerie McCarthy's test result confirmed that her grinding fatigue and pummeling headaches were caused by the new coronavirus. She wasn't hospitalized, but the very next day, a nurse at Stanford University Medical Center gave the 52-year-old marathon runner an injection that contained either a placebo or a natural virus fighter: interferon. McCarthy was Patient 16 in a clinical trial that, it's hoped, will help fill a huge void in treatments for COVID-19: Doctors have no drugs that, given early, have been proven to prevent infection or help beat back the virus before it takes hold. So far, the two scientifically validated treatments for COVID-19—remdesivir and dexamethasone—have only been shown to work in hospitalized patients with serious illness. But a small flurry of recent papers suggests the novel coronavirus does some of its deadly work by disabling interferons, powerful proteins that are the body's own frontline defenders against viral invasion. If s...

The American Heart Association has developed guidelines for cardiovascular practitioners who may be looking to incorporate genetic testing into the care of patients with inherited cardiovascular diseases. In a scientific statement published in the journal Circulation: Genomic and Precision Medicine on Thursday, researchers and clinicians on behalf of the American Heart Association Council on Genomic and Precision Medicine; the Council on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology; the Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing; and the Council on Clinical Cardiology said that genetic testing could be useful in the management of a variety of cardiovascular conditions, including cardiomyopathies, arrhythmic disorders, thoracic aortic aneurysms and dissections, and familial hypercholesterolemia (FH). https://www.modernhealthcare.com/patients/american-heart-association-sets-genetic-testing-guidelines-cardiovascular-disease

A study of the DNA of people in the Americas with African heritage has revealed overlooked details about the transatlantic slave trade. "This gives some clarity and some sense of individual history," says historian Linda Heywood of Boston University in Massachusetts, who wasn't involved in the research. DNA evidence means African Americans can pinpoint where their ancestors were abducted from and reclaim aspects of their heritage that were hidden by the slave trade, she says. "It broadens the way in which identity and personal history can be thought about." https://www.newscientist.com/article/2249839-how-the-slave-trade-left-its-mark-in-the-dna-of-people-in-the-americas/

A gene variant that can be traced all the way back to  Neanderthals , but is still present in about 0.4 percent of modern humans in Britain, may make pain feel even sharper. Out of the 362,944 British citizens in the study, those who had that Neanderthal-derived gene were 7 percent more likely to report at least one pain symptom ,  compared to those who didn't have the gene.  The authors suggest that translates to feeling the pain typical of someone  8.5 years their senior.  Age was correlated with more experiences of pain in the study population.  Hugo Zeberg  is the study's first author and a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and The Karolinska Institutet. He tells  Inverse  that the gene isn't terribly common in Europe –only one percent of Europeans likely have it. Zeberg and his team reached that conclusion by using data collected by the UK Biobank  study . https://www.inverse.com/science/neandertha...

The evolution of the deadliest virus in human history — smallpox — is only partly understood. Like the novel coronavirus and many other disease-causing viruses, smallpox seems to have originated in animals, probably rodents, and spilled over to humans, probably thousands of years ago. In the 20th century alone it killed hundreds of millions of people. Until now, the earliest confirmed case of smallpox had been found in the mummified remains of a  Lithuanian child from the 17th century . On Thursday, an international team of researchers pushed that date back 1,000 years,  reporting in the Science journal  that they had recovered smallpox DNA from the remains of people in Northern Europe in the Viking Age. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/23/science/smallpox-vikings-genetics.html?referringSource=articleShare

A marine bacterium has been genetically engineered to produce spider's silk, a material with many applications, including in the medical, aerospace and clothing industries. The silk that spiders use to form the spokes of their web is called dragline silk, and it's tough, lightweight and biodegradable. It's also biocompatible, which means it is compatible with living tissue and is not attacked by an animal's immune system. "This makes it safe for use in biomedical applications such as drug delivery systems, implant devices, and scaffolds for tissue engineering," said Choon Pin Foong, who was involved in the study to mass-produce the silk. Read in BBC Science Focus Magazine: https://apple.news/AV-sTtvLhSh6tt1mIDHfltw

New study finds genetic alterations in the VAC14 gene are associated with an increased risk of docetaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy in prostate cancer patients. Taxanes are a group of drugs commonly used to treat  cancers  of the breast, lung, ovary, or prostate, but its use can be limited by significant side effects. Researchers from Moffitt Cancer Center report  prostate cancer patients who have a variation in the VAC14 gene are more susceptible to a side effect called peripheral  neuropathy  when treated with the taxane docetaxel. https://clincancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/early/2016/05/03/1078-0432.CCR-15-2823 TR

Extended use of corticosteroids for chronic inflammatory conditions puts patients at risk for serious adverse events (AEs), including cardiovascular disease,  osteoporosis ,  cataracts , and diabetes. Now, a growing body of evidence suggests that even short bursts of these drugs are associated with serious risks. Most recently, a population-based study of more than 2.6 million people found that taking corticosteroids for 14 days or less was associated with a substantially greater risk for gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding,  sepsis , and  heart failure , particularly within the first 30 days after therapy. https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M20-0432

N ewly described case reports add to growing evidence that COVID-19 infections can result in severe, long-lasting neurological complications—including inflammation, psychosis, delirium, nerve damage, and strokes—even among patients experiencing mild cases of the virus with few other symptoms. In some instances, the new study claims, these neurological effects were the first manifestation of the disease. In a paper published today (July 8) in the journal  Brain , neurologists in the UK noted an uptick this spring in cases of a potentially fatal condition called acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM). While ADEM is usually diagnosed in younger children after a viral infection, researchers at the college's Institute of Neurology tell  The Guardian  that they saw two or three cases per week among coronavirus patients during April and May. Ordinarily, the hospital sees about two ADEM cases per month among adults. https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/dozens-more-case...

Probiotics paired with prebiotics  may hold a place in depression and anxiety treatment regimens, according to a review of seven studies. ( The BMJ ) The investigational treatment  vafidemstat -- an oral  KDM1A inhibitor  -- effectively reduced aggression in patients with borderline personality disorder, ADHD, and autism in the phase IIa Reimagine trial, Oryzon Genomics announced. Sunovion said its  SEP-4199 amisulpride formulation failed to meet its primary endpoint  after six weeks in a phase II trial targeting major depressive episodes associated with bipolar I disorders.. https://www.medpagetoday.com/psychiatry/generalpsychiatry/87463

Converging lines of evidence indicate that SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, can pass from person to person in tiny droplets called aerosols that waft through the air and accumulate over time. After  months of debate  about whether people can transmit the virus through exhaled air, there is growing concern among scientists about this transmission route. This week, Morawska and aerosol scientist Donald Milton at the University of Maryland, College Park, supported by an international group of 237 other clinicians, infectious-disease physicians, epidemiologists, engineers and aerosol scientists, published a commentary in the journal  Clinical Infectious Diseases  that urges the medical community and public-health authorities to acknowledge the potential for airborne transmission. They also call for preventive measures to reduce this type of risk. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/mounting-evidence-suggests-coronavirus-is-ai...

Indigenous Americans and Polynesians bridged vast expanses of open ocean around the year 1200 and mingled, leaving incontrovertible proof of their encounter in the DNA of present-day populations, new studies have revealed. Whether peoples from what is today Colombia or Ecuador drifted thousands of kilometres to tiny islands in the middle of the Pacific, or whether seafaring Polynesians sailed upwind to South America and then back again, is still unknown. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/08/indigenous-americans-polynesians-dna-800-years-ago